Study Says Ads in Violent Video Games Don't Work

Apparently adverts in 'violent' video games don't work. They actually put people off the brands they are trying to push. This is according to a study from the University of Texas.

Academic studies and video games - especially violent ones - are usually laughably flawed, so let's take the following study with the usual pinch of salt.

It states that, "Embedding advertisements in violent video games leads to lower brand recall and negative brand attitudes suggesting advertisers should think twice about including such ads in a media campaign."

The university also feels the need to point out that, "Women in particular responded negatively to ads placed in violent video games."

The official release states that, "The study, the first to confirm the link between increased video game violence and impaired in-game ad effectiveness, was authored by College of Communication researchers Seung-Chul Yoo, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Advertising, and Jorge Peņa, assistant professor in the Department of Communication Studies."

How was the discovery made? Is it possible that it could be confusing the proposition that 'adverts in any game that get in the way of you concentrating on not losing don't work as adverts' with 'ads in violent video games don't work?"

"As part of the study, participants played one of two video games with embedded advertisements," says the UT release. "The violent video game featured computer-operated avatars holding guns and shooting at the participant as he or she navigated through virtual rooms drenched in blood. In contrast, the non-violent video games featured the same avatars holding nothing and the virtual rooms were soaked in water.

"The video games were identical in every detail except for the presence or absence of violent cues, such as avatars holding guns. After navigating the game, participants were asked to recall some of the brands advertised in the games and to share their perceptions of those brands.

"Brand recall and recognition, and attitude were significantly lower for participants who navigated violent video games compared to those who navigated the non-violent video games."

So, the following weren't testing:

Sports games
Fitness games
Puzzle games.
Flight sims.
Driving games.

(We're sure you can add some more)

But the conclusion reached was, "Advertising campaign planners would do better to spend their budget on ads embedded in nonviolent video games than in ads placed within violent video games; particularly if they are trying to reach women."

Source: University of Texas